- FTX stopped in 2021, but continued to generate data in the backend
- The contact details on more than 35,000 Japan FTX users have found leaks
- The company could face the regulatory pressure accordingly
FTX JAPAN, the Japanese branch of the Crypto-Monitory FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has disclosed sensitive data on more than 35,000 users, putting them at risk of phishing and identity theft, experts warned.
Researchers at Cyberness declared that it had found a database exposed with 26 million files, including user names and real names, email addresses, postal addresses, FTX account IDs and detailed transaction newspapers, including loan information and loans, cryptocurrencies, guarantees, margin rates and risk flags.
The files are also relatively fresh because some of the newspapers were apparently generated in July 2024.
Disturbing implications
Explaining how it is possible that an exchange which closed at the end of 2021 is always generated, and thus files, from 2024, Cyberness said FTX Japan completed its bankruptcy and withdrawals in February 2023, but its backend systems probably remained active throughout 2024.
After the fallout from FTX, its Japanese subsidiary was acquired by another Japanese crypto exchange called Bitflyer, and was renamed in Custodiem in 2024.
“It is not clear if the discovery leak belongs to the actively used childcare infrastructure, or is an unmatched artifact abandoned after the collapse of the FTX”, the Cyberness The researchers explained.
The implications are disturbing because cybercriminals can use information to target people who have already lost a lot of bankruptcy. For example, Celsius customers (another cryptographic company that has gone almost at the same time), are bombed with phishing emails in which crooks pretend to be the company and claim that the victims are eligible for withdrawals.
At the same time, the company itself risks more in-depth regulatory pressure, and perhaps fines, consequently.
Cybernews has also said that data leakage raises concerns about privacy and regulatory compliance, because under Japanese laws, cryptographic companies must comply with high standards.
How to stay safe
Violation means that cybercriminals may have a day in the field with disclosed data, which should be more than enough sensitive information to launch highly personalized and successful phishing campaigns, leading to identity theft, wired fraud and even ransomware attacks.
If you worry, you may have been taken in the incident, don’t worry – there are a number of methods to discover. Haribeenpwned? is probably the best resource only to verify whether your contact details have been assigned, offering a dilapidated each large cyber-incident of recent years.
And if you save passwords on a Google account, you can use Google’s password verification tool to see if it has been compromised or register for one of the best password management options that we have gathered to make sure that your connections are protected.
